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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485137">This Isn`t Over</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlygoldenplaited/pseuds/onlygoldenplaited'>onlygoldenplaited</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:42:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>913</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27485137</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlygoldenplaited/pseuds/onlygoldenplaited</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Set post series finale. </p><p>The fight is finally over, but there is still so much work to do...</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Castiel/Dean Winchester</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>This Isn`t Over</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Dean leans his weight against Baby`s rear trunk door.</p><p>The hard metal isn`t comfortable, of course, but the slightly warm feel of his beloved car against his back in the afternoon sun grounds him in a way he can`t describe after the week he`s had. After so much endless fighting and loss, they have finally won. Chuck was now officially locked away for good, or for at least a very long time, thanks to Amara breaking free to help them in the eleventh hour, and everyone who had been taken away by him had miraculously been returned once more. Needless to say, the resulting reunions had been nothing short of joyful as everyone tearfully clung to their returned loved ones, and the Winchesters had been more than happy to continue the celebrations in their bunker, with more than enough pizza and beer to share with everyone as they rejoiced in the simple miracle of being alive after all they had been through. They deserved as much, after all, didn`t they?</p><p>As much as Dean was genuinely thrilled for this well-deserved victory, however, he simply could not shake the deafening absence of  the one person in the world he wishes he could share this otherwise happy moment with. In every corner, he half-expected to see the flash of a familiar tan trench coat among the crowd, to see a pair of dazzling blue eyes framed by dark hair looking back at him from across the room, and his heart had dropped every single time he'd been forced to remind himself of the simple truth: However many had been saved that day, Cas was still gone.</p><p>The angel had looked him unflinchingly in the eye, tears streaming down his cheeks and an adoring smile that was only for him...had held up a mirror to the very best parts of Dean, and told him those three simple little words that had broken his heart and made it soar at the same time...then, he had simply disappeared. No trace was left behind that anyone had ever been there at all, just an emptiness in Dean`s chest that nothing in the world could ever fill. Sam and Jack had asked what happened to Castiel shortly afterward when they met up again, and listened in shock as Dean stammered out the basics of the story through his grief, though of course Dean couldn't bring himself to mention the confession to them. If he dwelled on their last moments together for too long, or allowed himself to replay Castiel`s painfully sincere words of love in his mind for more than a moment, he would certainly break in to a million pieces, which simply wasn`t an option right then. Instead, he slowly got up off the floor and made the choice to fight. Then, they won, and slowly started to pick up the pieces of their lives, which brings Dean to the present, a week later, leaning against his precious car.</p><p>Their grueling ordeal was finally over at long last, but by no means was the work done. Along with bringing back family and friends, plenty of monsters of all kinds had been returned to life, as well, meaning that the hunt would never really be completely over. Dean hates to admit that he is a bit more than excited to get back on the road again for the first time after their brief break, but there is a particular feature of this hunt that makes him even more eager to get going: Sam had excitedly, in his research, found a number of articles referencing a mysterious ancient tome called The Book Of Night hidden in a remote part of the wilderness in Washington State, which could help them find a way to pull people out of The Empty; namely, a certain angel to whom Dean had left so many things unsaid...</p><p>
  <em>"Hey, Dean! Are you ready?"</em>
</p><p>Sam`s voice pulls Dean out of his reverie as his brother approaches the car, followed closely behind by Jack, both of them laden down with all forms of weapons and other supplies for the trip. Powerful magical artifacts such as the Book of Night were always well-protected, and you never know what dangers you might run into along the way.</p><p><em>"You know I am"</em>, Dean replies as he stands up and turns around to open the trunk. Once his arms are empty, Sam places a hand gently on Dean`s shoulder, clearly sensing but not fully understanding the deep unspoken anxiety that lay under Dean`s otherwise steely demeanor.</p><p><em>"We`re gonna get Cas back, I promise..."</em>, Sam says with a small encouraging smile,</p><p><em>"And we'll do it together, like we always do"</em>, Jack continues, as he places his own items in the trunk.</p><p>Dean can`t help but allow himself a smile of his own at his family`s confidence in their abilities as a team, which only bolsters his own dogged determination to succeed in this new endeavor. Castiel is going to be returned to him, of nothing could he be more certain, and he frankly doesn`t care what it will take, or how many more monsters he will have to take down along the way to make that happen. </p><p><em>"Yeah"</em> he answers after a brief pause, giving a small nod of agreement to the others before finally shutting the Impala's trunk door with a satisfying "SLAM!"</p><p>
  <em>"Let`s go."</em>
</p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know that there has been debate over whether or not Cas will be returning in the last two episodes, and so this little ficlet started rattling around in my head as a solution for how our dear angel, and Destiel, can ultimately still have at least an implied happy ending without Cas actually being there in the finale. I wrote this pretty quickly with only a cursory glance for editing before posting, so I really hope you all enjoy it!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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